Daucus Carota, also known as wild carrot or Queen Anne's Lace, is a common wildflower which held a particular fascination for Louis Comfort Tiffany. It appears at various stages of its development in his designs, ranging from Louis Comfort Tiffany's jewelry to a line of candlesticks, a spectacular Favrile Pottery vase, and this unusal inkstand.
The round base of the stand features a relief motif of the bristly, pinnate leaves, while the central inkwell with hinged lid takes the form of the plant's sculptural seed head which forms in the fall.
This rare piece of Tiffany metalwork bears both the stamp for Tiffany Studios and the Tiffany Glass Decorating Co. monogram on the underside, indicating its early date of production.
Height: 4 inches (10.2 cm)
Diameter: 5 ¼ inches (13.3 cm)
Bibliography:
Alastair Duncan, Louis C. Tiffany: The Garden Museum Collection, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2004, p. 366.
Similar examples illustrated:
Alastair Duncan, Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2007, p. 430, no. 1709
Martin Eidelberg, Nina Gray and Margaret K. Hofer, A New Light on Tiffany: Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Girls, exhibition catalog, New York Historical Society, New York, 2007, p. 83.